Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and accounts for nearly 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States, and there is an increasing incidence of lung cancer in the world. The overall 5-year survival rate of patients with lung cancer has not improved significantly over the last 30 years and remains at only 10-15% in the United States. The prognosis of patients with lung cancer depends in large part on the stage of presentation when the lung cancer is diagnosed. Thus, early detection of lung cancer in conjunction with early treatment would be expected to significantly reduce mortality from lung cancer.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods for detecting lung cancer, e.g., methods for detecting lung cancer at an early stage of presentation.